Composing and Arranging

Choreography, n. the art of composing and arranging dances and esp. ballets (defined by Merriam-Webster)

Choreography has opened up a whole new realm of expression for me. Since I have been at Mason, I have choreographed four pieces and I am currently working on my fifth. Hopefully soon I can have video of all my pieces on here.

Here is video of two of my dance peers discussing choreography from a college student's point of view.




Much of choreography is first born through a process called improvisation. Improvising means to do something in the spur of the moment. In dance, many people like to improvise with music and see where their internal rhythm leads. Last Friday, November 16, we had an improv jam in the dance department. All artists were invited (musicians, dancers, visual artists, thesbians, etc.) We had three musicians come to the improv and a few new dancer faces. Here is some video of the last ten minutes of the hour and a half jam.



Personally, I felt torn between taping this magic moment and actually participating in the dancing. I have not done any improvisation with a group of dancers since my freshman year of college. The experience was invigorating and exciting. So many uncanny and timely interactions occur between people. Improvisation is just a wonderful way to be dancing... always in the moment.

I welcome comments to my blog from anybody with input or feedback. If you were there, feel free to comment on what this experience was like for you. Until next time!